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Wall said Andy..............
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Hot or cold starting is no problem with EFI once it is all tested and programmed properly.
At the quantities required for the aviation market, injectors and other fuel hardware is readily available from hundreds of vendors. Supply is not a problem. I agree with Andy, no need for a red knob once everything is programmed and tested. The FADEC will do a better job than a human over the course of startup, taxi, climb and cruise. Always optimized for best power and lowest fuel flow. IMO doing fuel injection is actually less work than EI. Many of the problems with the popular aviation EIs are due to lack of testing in my view plus some questionable design work as well. Heat and moisture need to be managed with electronics and some vendors in this field do stuff that would never pass first review in the automotive world. One of our clients is about to start flight testing a low cost experimental EI/EFI setup for Lycoming 4 cylinder engines. I don't think there is a big market for $6K+ FADECs in the experimental world. With the success of one of our other clients in Reno Super Sport Class last year using EI/EFI, many others are suddenly interested in the advantages it offers over conventional controls- especially in this high workload environment. |
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Price vs. Reliability
I find it very interesting that almost 50% of the voters are interested in price, and less than 18% are concerned with reliability.
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I think many have expressed concern with reliability by saying they wouldn't buy until many tens of thousands of flight hours prove they are reliable- rightly so.
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Flying W/ FADEC
I can say that I like flying an aircraft with FADEC. I never liked messing with the mixture control. I prefer to start it up and go flying. I have not had problems with fowled plugs (too rich) or burned pistons (too lean). I get good gas mileage and plenty of power at all altitudes and I don't have to think about it. Would I use FADEC again on another airplane? Probably, but it's not a slam dunk either. Aerosance is out of business and future support is in question. If Lycoming came out with a system, I would definitely give it a look.
Dane Patterson RV-8 w/ IOF-360 |
Exactly...
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Personally, in my slightly "steam gauge" mind there is another issue. I like to be involved in the process when I am operating a vehicle for fun. As much as I admire the seamless performance of my Audi A4 with it's electronic engine controls, I much prefer my old Alfa Romeo for a sporting drive. It "needs me" the Audi doesn't. Same with aircraft. When I was flying turbines for a living I was very fond of all the PFM* that made my job easier but for fun, I enjoy doing some manual engine management. (* Pure Flaming Magic) :D John Clark RV8 N18U "Sunshine" KSBA |
I did, sort of....
I went with the Eagle EMS from Precision Airmotive. They are the manufacturers of the SilverHawk fuel injections along with a Bendix clone for the certified market.
The Eagle encompasses dual electronic ignitions and electronic fuel injection. It does NOT control the prop. It eliminates the hot starts and constantly adjusts the fuel mixture for all phases of flight. If you are really wanting to run lean, you can manually lean by an additional 10% using the supplied small dial. I bought my system from Aerosport who is the most knowledgeable about the system and have done several builds and tests on this 320s, 360s, and 390s. It cost me $2,500 more going this route vs the typical mag/light speed and Silverhawk installation. It contains all the backups that one would expect. It does require it's own battery backup for which I use a small 3.6 Amp Hr battery that the Eagle will monitor and maintain. The Eagle uses 1.6 Amp per hour, so that gives me a couple of hours of runtime, which is plenty to find a place to land. Hope to be flying by June. |
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can you explain how that works (not needing lop if you can adjust ignition angle) in a short post for someone that doesn't know what you are talking about? |
I'm interested too!
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John Clark RV8 N18U "Sunshine" KSBA |
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